Impact of self-esteem on the oral-health-related quality of life of children with malocclusion.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-esteem and oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a sample of children seeking orthodontic treatment in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.


METHODS
This was a cross-sectional study of children aged 11 to 14 years, evaluating the associations among the child perception questionnaire (CPQ11-14), the self-esteem subscale of the child health questionnaire, and the dental aesthetic index (DAI).


RESULTS
The CPQ11-14 scores were significantly related to the self-esteem scores and the DAI ratings. Regression analysis showed that self-esteem contributed significantly to the variance in CPQ11-14 scores. However, the amount of variance explained by normative measures of malocclusion was relatively small.


CONCLUSIONS
The impact of malocclusion on quality of life is substantial in children with low self-esteem. Compared with normative measures of malocclusion, self-esteem is a more salient determinant of OHRQoL in children seeking orthodontic treatment. Longitudinal data will be of value to confirm this finding.
Agou
Shoroog
S
Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. shoroog.agou@utoronto.ca
Locker
David
D
Streiner
David L
DL
Tompson
Bryan
B
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012649:Self Concept; D012647:Self-Assessment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires